Appointment Details

Title: Assistant Professor without Tenure

Service Period: 12 months

Appointment Criteria: Must be appointed at a minimum of 50% FTE. Appointment with the rank of assistant professor requires a demonstration of teaching and research ability and requires completion of professional training (Faculty Code Section 24-34A-1).

Duration of Appointment: The initial appointment is for a three-year term. The length of the second term of appointment varies according to the percentage of appointment (Faculty Code Section 24-45D):

90%-100%: three years

70%-89%: four years

60%-69%: five years

50%-59%: six years

In all cases, the mandatory review for promotion must be made during the last year of the second appointment term.

The end date in Workday reflects the anticipated end date based on the mandatory review timeline. The appointment may end on an earlier date under certain circumstances, such as a non-renewal.

If a joint appointment is being granted at the time of hire, the following documents are also required of all joint appointing units

Chair’s/director’s or dean’s/chancellor’s recommendation letter

Concurrence from dean/chancellor of primary school/college/campus

Faculty vote (including: for, against, abstaining, absent, and total number of eligible voters)

MOU, if applicable

Promotion Details

Assistant Professors without Tenure must be reviewed for promotion in the last year of the second appointment term (normally the sixth year of an appointment, but this may vary if the appointment is part-time, or if other adjustments to mandatory review dates have been approved).

Adjustments to Academic Review Dates and or Promotion/Tenure Review Dates

A leave of absence may impact the promotion clock. Generally, a year in which an Assistant Professor without Tenure works 50% or more for six months or more will count toward the promotion clock. If the faculty member works less than that during an academic year, the promotion clock will be automatically extended by one year, extending the Probationary and Appointment End Dates by one year. The Academic Review Date (Appointment Renewal Date) will be extended as well if the review has not already occurred. See examples here.

A faculty member who becomes a parent is automatically eligible to receive a one-year extension of the Probationary and Appointment End Dates, as well as the Academic Review Date if the review has not already occurred.

To activate the extension, the faculty member must send a requesting memo through the faculty member’s department chair and dean’s office to the Office of Academic Personnel.

Promotion may be recommended prior to the mandatory year; however, the candidate must have a strong, persuasive, and clearly demonstrated record of substantial success in both teaching and research in order to warrant approval of an early promotion (and tenure).

Promotion Recommendations

Three alternative actions may be taken by an academic appointing unit concerning promotion when reviewed in the mandatory year (Faculty Code Section 25-41B):

Recommend approval.

Recommend denial. The candidate’s appointment is then extended by one terminal year. Reconsideration of promotion in the terminal year is not allowed.

Recommend postponement of the decision (the unit must specifically vote on a motion for postponement). A postponement can be made only in the mandatory year. In such cases, the candidate will be notified in writing by the dean/chancellor that if promotion is not approved in the next year, the appointment will terminate at the end of the academic year succeeding the denial. For example, if the postponement is made in the 6th (and mandatory) year and a denial follows in the 7thyear, the appointment will terminate at the end of the 8th academic year.

Mandatory promotion recommendations are due to Academic HR by December 15.